Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Final Post for 2012-2013 School Year

For the final entry of the year, the students are going to write about an activity, assignment, or moment that was positive and fun this past school year.

Jack B.--Participating in Gym Class
Erin B.--Going on the Zoo Trip
Nailyah B.--Going on the Zoo Trip
Leanna B.--Participating in the PASS program
Seth B.--Water Balloon Toss on the last day
Charisma B.--Being in Mr. Irwin's class
Emily B.--5th grade Bowling Trip
Jalen C.--Doing all the math work
De'Angelo E.--Seeing my favorite teacher again
Josh G.--Having fun at recess
Ben G.--Going on the Zoo Trip
Kira H.--Meeting new friends
Jake H.--5th Grade Bowling Trip
Cheyanne K.--Doing the geometry unit
Katelyn K.--Going on the Zoo Trip
Zoe K.--Going on the Zoo Trip
Adriann K.--Having lunch
Emma L.--Writing the animal research report
Luis M.--Meeting new friends
Austin M.--Learning about the Civil War
Sabryna O.--Eating at the Ice Cream Social
Katherine P.--Meeting up with old friends
Corbin R.--Meeting new friends
Dashanae R.--Going on 5th Grade Bowling Trip
Destinee R.--Doing all the math work
Jordan S.--Studying of the Civil War
Bibiana S.--Doing the geometry unit
Nadia S.--Learning about the Civil War
Britain W.--Writing the animal research report
Mr. Irwin--Having the students participate in the Presidential election and voting in the classroom

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Thank You

Thanks to Mr. Canada, a former Harlem Globetrotter, for speaking to the class about the importance of education and that success in sports starts with success in the classroom.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

May 28-31

Students will begin their common assessment for geometry on Thursday.  Bibiana S., Leanna B., Corbin R., and Destinee R. were all winners in our Geometry BINGO review.

In gym class, we had hula hoop wars.

On Thursday, students will be practicing lockdown procedures as if they were on the playground.

5th graders had their final THINK program.  Students got to meet Sunny and Diesel, police dogs.  They also received football cards.

We got to see fellow Jefferson students perform in the talent show as they prepared for the evening performance.

Students continue to write their informative report on their endangered animal.  The report will be completed early next week. 

We are still trying to figure out the phrase that Ms. Wall is spelling out for us.

Thursday is the last day of the buy 1, get 1 free book sale in the library.

On Friday, Ms. Wall will be duct taped to a wall during lunch because the school met the reading pages goal, 150,000 pages.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Week of May 20-24

We got a new student in are class named Benjamin.

The 4th and 5th graders went to the Zoo.

Students have a word that they are trying to figure out.

On Tuesday we played SpaceBall in Gym.

We started Geometry.  Our Spelling words this week are Geometry words.

Students started endangered animal projects.

Today in S.E.L it was Mrs.W's last day of teaching.

Its the last day of PASS.

Type by Kira H.


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Week of May 13

Students were given their iPads on Monday.  We are just getting use to having them and using them in a responsible way.

On Wednesday, the students supported their classmates by respectfully watching the band, orchestra, and chorus concert.  On Thursday, we were able to watch an orchestra concert performed by intermediate school students.

Students completed the post test for Achieve3000.  Many students met their expected growth figured out by the program.

Our word work was based on terms used to describe animals. 

Our final unit in math is geometry.  Students have been activating background knowledge and working with lines and triangles.

During SEL class, students practiced using a combination lock.

Reminder for students that haven't brought in their zoo field trip slip to get that in as soon as possible.



Thursday, May 9, 2013

Week of May 6th

On Wednesday, we had Wheelin' Wednesday.  If you brought wheels to school you got a granola bar and a sticker.

Today in the library is the pajama fund raiser.

We had SEL today.

Yesterday we started on the measurement common assessment.  We had our geometry pretest.

The permission slips for the IPAD are going home.

We are starting the Plants and Animals unit on Monday.

Tomorrow we have gym.

Written by: Corbin R.


Thursday, May 2, 2013

Thursday's Thoughts

It was Junior Achievement Day at Jefferson.  Students learned about the economy and what is needed for a business to succeed.  Different jobs were discussed and how they help a business.  As a way of reviewing, the studens played a game of Jeopardy.  We want to thank Mr. G from the law firm of Foley and Gardner for coming and working with our class.

Students began to review for the measurement common assessment which we will take in the next couple of days.  We began to make posters to help us remember the customary and metric measurements.

We take our final MAPs test on Monday. 

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Last Day of April

This month we celebrated Earth Day by participating in a week long event.  Students helped plant a tree, we listened to guest speakers, picked up garbage on the school grounds, and designed and created an outfit out of recycled material that Ms. Wall wore to a dance.

Students have begun to play kickball in gym class and at recess for intramural sports.

We have completed our language arts and reading MAPs tests.  The math one will be completed next week.

In math, students are wrapping up the unit on measurement as we continue to work in guided math groups.

During music, students will be creating a 5 line poem called the Carnival of Animals.

In literacy, we are completing our study on energy sources, like light and sound, and we will be moving to our final inquiry on plants and animals.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Open House

Just a reminder that conferences are being held on Tuesday, April 30 from 4:30 to 7:30. During that time, I will hold an open house for all students and parents from 5:30 to 7:00. Hope to see you there.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Thursday Update

This Monday we had our first MAPs test, Language Arts.

This week we had different assemblies for Earth week.

 Today in S.E.L., we learned to make good decisions and we wrote letters to the third grade and to the students at Lincoln.

Today we got some library books for the first time in two weeks.

We finished reading guided reading books and also took a quiz.

Yesterday we picked up the garbage on the playground.

Typed by Austin M.





Friday, April 19, 2013

Friday Post

Students watched Ms. Wall model outfits for an Earth Week "Project Runway."  We are proud to say our outfit was voted the top one, and Ms. Wall will model it at the dance Friday night.

We practiced another safety drill, this time for a tornado.

Students completed different mini-inquiry projects for Earth Week, as they worked with other students from Team Innov8ors. 

Our spelling words this week revolved around Earth Week.

Students did a writing sample from the perspective of an animal that was near the BP oil spill.

MAPs test starts on Monday with language arts.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Long Time No Post

It has been awhile since our last entry, but we have been busy working.

In math, students have begun a unit discussing measurement.  We started our unit by reading a book called Millions to Measure.  The main idea of the book was the development of different measurement systems.  One topic has been our ability to convert between units.  We have also looked at both the customary and metric units.  Students have begun to calculate elapsed time while others began to work with volume of a prism.

In reading, students finished reading Owls in the Family.  Stormy continues to read their book.  Students have been practicing making inferences based on headings, finding the main idea and supporting details, and writing summaries.  We have been using non-fiction books that discuss light, sound, and electricity to practice these skills.

In writing, to go along with our inquiry unit on energy, students read an Achieve3000 article called "Oil Spill in the Gulf."  This article gave us background knowledge to help write a narrative from the point of view of an animal experiencing the BP oil spill.  We have practiced some figurative language techniques, like simile, metaphor, and personification, that we will look to add to our writing.  Also, we have completed our light/sound timelines on timetoast.com and a paragraph description of them.

We have been preparing for activities that will occur during our Earth Week coming up.

MAPs testing has begun, and we want all students to do their best and reach their growth goals.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Weekly Review

We had the teachers talent show.

Students took their common assessment test on algebra.

Today was beach day.

we celebrated March Madness this week.

We have new groups in literacy.

We practiced our lockdown procedure.

We did experiments involving tuning forks.

We had relay races.

We had a chip shop fundraiser and a jump rope for heart fundraiser.

In music, we watched "Stomp".

The jump rope for heart funraiser is due next week.

Written by: Adriann K.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Moodle Time

Students spent time researching important events about light and sound that they would be able to put on a timeline. They will also have to write a paragraph that explains why they picked those events.





Thank You

I want to thank all the parents that were able to make it to the open house and conferences last night. There were a lot of positives discussed and I'm looking forward to a great finish to the school year.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Open House

Hello Parents,

I will be holding an open house from 3:45 to 4:30 on Monday before the scheduled parent/teacher conferences. Hope to see you there!

Mr. Irwin

Friday Assembly

Students were able to participate in a fitness assembly sponsored by Radio Disney. The students had a lot of fun and they were able to get very active.



Spring Concert

The students sang in the morning and the afternoon three songs based off the theme of fun. Thanks to Mrs. Bina for putting the concert together.



Thursday, March 14, 2013

Highlights so Far this Week

Thursday we helped celebrate Pi Day.  The class walked around the playground with the whole school a little more than 3 laps.  Also, students had to use the number for pi (3.1415) in a creative story.

Students performed in their Spring concert.  They had two performances and I am proud of their work.

Students started to use the Moodle program in order to research information about light and sound that will be put on a timeline.

During math, we have been practicing different algebra concepts.  Some of the concepts we have worked on would include: order of operations, expressions, equations, variables, and factoring.

In our literacy block, students are reading 1 of 2 chapter books.  The books both involve animals which will lead into our final inquiry of the year.  Skills that we will practice our sequence of events, summarizing, and inferencing. 

Students helped create a project for Kick Butts Day with their SEL teacher.

Student fundraising is still going on, so remember to bring back tickets when you have sold more than 5 items.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

This week at school is Dr.Seuss week.
Today in S.E.L we made posters for anti-smoking.
In our guided reading we got our new books
Tomorrow wear Red,White, or Black for Cat in the Hat'
Tomorrow is the last day for the book fair.
Wednesday we got to wear our pj's to school.

      By: Luis M.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Celebrity Reading

We want to thank Officer Nelson for coming and reading to our class today. He read Green Eggs and Ham and the students helped finish some of the sentences.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Cancelled

Due to the weather, parent-teacher conferences have been cancelled for this evening.  Also, I will not be having the room open house after school.  Be safe in all your travels.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Open House

Come and join me for an open house in room 318 from 3:45 to 4:30. This is before my scheduled conferences, but feel free to drop in and say "Hello!"

Thursday, February 28, 2013

We had our PBIS Tribes assembly to talk about street safety.

Students shared their day off of school in their jounal.

We were able to check out books this week.

Tomorrow is the last night to go to Frank Lloyd Wright to have family swim night.

Students are working on ten marks for math.

Our lucky raffle winners were Sabryna O. and Nadia S.

Written by: Cheyanne K.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Daily Blogger

Here is our writer for the day.

What's Happening So Far...

Tomorrow we have library.
Today in gym we played volleyball.
Today in the computer lab we did our fraction project.
Yesterday we started a project with metal in art.
In Achieve3000 there is a contest for what class that can get the most points.  Achieve3000 writing project is due Thrusday Feb. 28.
In music we did our songs for our concert March 14,2013.

Written by: Luis M.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Light/Sound Narratives

In a community circle, students shared narratives they had written that used information from our inquiry unit on light and sound.

Bring Your Family to School Day

Thank you to all the family members that were able to come and participate in the different activities. Here are some students and adults participating in a collaboration activity.





Valentine's Day

Students brought items to put together in a trail mix. This was done to symbolize how we are all different but that we can come together and participate in a community.

Friday Summary

Today in math we finished all the fourth graders in the fraction common assessment.
Today in music we sang Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.
In gym today, we played Chinese jump rope.
In gym we played volleyball.
We got progress reports and WKCE score sheets.

Written by: Charisma B.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Highlights for the Week starting February 18

Today in math we talked about our fraction goals.
4th graders where interviewed for their common assessment.
Bring your Family to School Day is on Thursday.
Light/sound narratives are due on Friday.
Achieve writing is due by the end of February.

Written by: Jordan S.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Take Your Family to School

Here is a flyer that was sent home to advertise this upcoming event!

Highlights So Far this Week

In math, students are getting more independence in choosing the types of activities they would like to do.  Mr. Irwin has been interviewing students as part of the common assessment.

Valentine's Day is tomorrow.  Students have been asked to bring items to help create a community trail mix.  Also, if they decide to bring other items, they must bring one for everybody.  Please bring a bag for all the goodies.

In gym, students have begun to play volleyball.

It is Lincoln Preview Night for 5th graders.

Bring back January reading logs as students have gotten their new February reading logs.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Week Day Highlights

Monday- In art, we made sunsets. Also the students did there Language Arts MAPs test. The 4th graders went to the Survive Alive house. In math we reviewed fractions.

Tuesday- We had gym and music. In math, we reviewed more things with fractions.

Wednesday- We had library. Also we continued our powerpoints.

Thursday- We did a science experiment about a sound wave. We started our math common assessment.

Friday-  We continued the assessment and finshed our powerpoints.  We went to gym and played blowing and sharks tank. Then we went to music and we brought in our devices and looked up composers and did research on them like a report.

Made By: Kira H., Sabryna O., and Leanna B.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Update for the Week of February 4th

In SEL, students had a discussion about race and used a song from Michael Jackson to help the discussion.

We have begun our math common assessment about fractions.

As a class, we have been working towards giving the students more choice and responsibility as they work in their literacy rotations.

Students have been writing a narrative story that must include either light or sound, which our the next inquiry topics.

We are almost done with our Civil War PowerPoints.

We completed our language arts MAPs test, so all we have left is math.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Summary for 1/28-2/1

The topic for the 5th grader's THINK program was bullying and internet safety.

Students completed their winter reading MAPs test.  Everyone gave their best effort and we had many students make positive gains in their scores.

All students completed their Civil War PowerPoints and we began the presentations on Friday.

We celebrated a few birthdays this week.  Happy Birthday to De'Angelo, Cheyanne, and Seth.

In math, we worked on all the number operations with fractions.  Students took quizzes on all of them.  We also worked with mixed numbers.

New clubs have started at school and students are excited to be participating.

Next Wednesday is Quiz Bowl tryouts for those students who are interested.

4th graders will be going to the Survive Alive house on Monday.

PowerPoint Presentations

Students started presenting their inquiry projects about the Civil War.



Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Highlights from 1/30

Today we had MAPS testing.
Some of the students got to finish their power points.
We had a math test.
In literacy we talked about what we learned about The Civil War.
We got new library books.
Tomorrow study for the test we are going to have on adding and subtracting fraction.
We still have the Jefferson Bear, YAY!
Tomorrow 4th graders have to bring there survive alive field trip slips.

Written By: Charisma Brown

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Highlights for 1/29

In gym today we played basketball.
Tomorrow bring back library books.
In our new inquiry unit, we will be talking about energy, light and sound
Today in math we learned about multiplying and dividing fractions.We also learned about Keep it, Change it, Flip it to help with dividing.
Today in music we sang "Fifty Nifty United States"
Today some students completed their PowerPoint about the Civil War.
Today during literacy block students read the article "Can You Hear Me Now."  We read the article to build background about our new inquiry.We also practiced summarizing with the article.

Written By: Zoe K.
Edited By: Mr. Irwin

Friday, January 25, 2013

Weekly Summary for 1/21-1/25

Students were honored for academic and behavior awards during JeffersonFest. 

In math, the main topics for the week dealt with comparing, adding, and subtracting of fractions.

In literacry, students discussed issues related to the civil rights movement and Dr. King to make a connection with their learning about the Civil War.

We were practicing our reading skills with KidBiz3000 articles as a whole class. 

The topic for THINK this week was alcohol.

Students will begin their winter MAPs test next week.  We look forward to seeing all the progress the students have made.

Look for report cards that were sent home on Friday.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Highlights 1/24

During math, we reviewed the skills of finding equivalent fractions so that it would help us as we add and subtract fractions. 

During SEL, students talked about vocabulary words that focused on multicultural identities.

Students our planning their slides for their PowerPoint presentations on the Civil War.

As a class, we practiced doing a thought question on a KidBiz3000 article.

On Friday, students can wear a hat in school to help celebrate Jefferson Fest.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Highlights 1/23

We did a KidBiz3000 article with the focus of summarizing it.

In math, we began to add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators.

Some students set reading goals for their small groups.  Also, during literacy, some groups worked on end punctuation and researching their Civil War projects.

Students must remember to have all their library books at school on Wednesday.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

New Classroom Set-up

With the second semester starting, I changed the class arrangement to allow for students to have more freedom as they work and collaborate. Here are students writing their own version of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and collaborating in their Civil War PowerPoint groups.





Friday, January 18, 2013

Highlights 1/18

Today, we listened to a guest speaker, a former Olympian.  Mrs. Sullivan talked about following your dreams and to never give up.

We want to thank Mrs. Zamir for all she did for our class.  It was her final day here at Jefferson, and we wish her the best luck in the future.

In math, students looked at strategies used to compare fractions.

In gym, our class competed against Ms. Geiss' class in a basketball competition. 

The THINK program talked about cigarettes and marijuana. 

Swim night at Frank Lloyd Wright.

No school on Monday, we look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

1/17 Highlights

During math class, we reviewed the concept of equivalent fractions and how it can be related to simplest form.

S.E.L. were writing about what we learned in Tar Wars (smoking).

Tonight is a fundraiser for Jefferson at Chuck E. Cheese.

Students continued to research their topics about the Civil War.  Also in literacy, students were practicing their editing skills by looking for misspelled words in a paragraph.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Highlights for 1/16

We learned how to simplify fractions.  We got new library books.  Mr Irwin checked our scores on kidbiz.  We started to research our final Civil War projects.  Happy birthday Katherine P.  Tomorrow we have SEL.

Written by Erin B.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Story Presentations

Here are some students who offered to share narratives they had written. The story had to talk about a slave who was now free after the Civil War and what would that character now do.





Summary of 1/7-1/11

On Monday we went to art.  We went down to the to computer lab to do Kidbiz3000 and Mr. Irwin tracked the activities we completed.  We got our words for the week.

On Tuesday we did our first word activity.  In gym, we practiced our basketball passes.  In music we talked about music notes.

On Wednesday we got a new student and her name is Britain.  We got new library books.  We learned about cyberbulling.  Tyler got his stuff to attend a new school.  We had a Civil War test.

On Thursday we went to SEL.  We did corrections on our Civil War test.  We practiced the safety drills.

In gym on Friday we practiced our lay-ups.  In music we did rhythm on fruit.  At the end of the day we went in the SEL room to learn about safety rules with two police men.

Written by Leanna B. and Corbin R.
Edited by Mr. Irwin

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

1/9 Highlights

Students took their Civil War quiz.  They will get the opportunity to make improvements on it Thursday.

We want to welcome our new student Britain W. to our class.  We also want to say goodbye to Tyler B. who will be attending a new school.

Ms. Rivest led the class through an activity on cyberbullying.

Students should continue to work on their narratives about a freed slave.

We began our small group work dealing with fractions and identifying them.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Tuesday 1/8 Highlights

During math, most groups set their goals for their fraction unit.

All of the PASS groups will now be going in full session.

In literacy, students are revising their narratives and getting them ready to put in a book with illustrations.

Library books and Civil War quiz tomorrow.

December reading logs are due by January 11th.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Food Planning Project

For our final project with number operations base 10, students had to plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a family of 4. They used different ads to find their products, but they could only spend $50.00. Parents, you may want to ask your son/daughter to help with next weeks grocery list, because most of them were thrifty shoppers who couldn't pass up a deal.







Friday, January 4, 2013

Summary of 1/2--1/4

This week was a short week.  This week we had gym, music, library,and SEL.  In math, we worked on shopping using food ads and planning 3 meals.  We also had a pre-test on fractions. We also went on kidbiz and did more about the Civil War.  Monday is dress for success. On Wednesday, we have a Civil War test and on Thursday we are going to practice more of our safety procedures. 

Written by Sabryna O'Brien
Editted by Mr. Irwin

Thursday, January 3, 2013

1/3 Highlights

In math, we started a project in which students were a food planner and had to spend $50 for a family of 4.  They began to use ads to find the prices of food and drinks to plan their 3 meals.

Internet safety was our topic during SEL.

We began a discussion about reconstruction after the Civil War and how it affected African Americans.

Friday's dress is to show support for your favorite team.

December reading logs in by Friday.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

1/2 Highlights and Reminders

Students participated in a PBIS assembly.  Topics discussed were ways students can be safe when at school and Ms. Wall reviewed the different dress days for the week.

Most students did an Achieve3000 article after not doing one for over a week, due to the holiday break.

We learned that it was the 150 year anniversary of the Emanicipation Proclamation (as we continue to study the Civil War).

Our pre-test for fractions was an exciting event today.

December Reading Logs are due this week.